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Chinese text
善行，无辙迹；善言，无瘕谪；善计，不用筹策；善闭，无关键不可开；善结，无绳约不可解。是以圣人常善救人，而无弃人；常善救物，而无弃物。是谓袭明。善人，不善人之师；不善人，善人之资。不贵其师，不爱其资，虽知大迷，此谓要妙
Translation
One who knows how to walk (in the Way) leaves no traces; one who knows how to speak does not make mistakes; one who knows how to calculate does not use reckoning tools; one who knows how to close (something) does not use a bolt, and it is impossible to open it; one who knows how to bind (something) does not use ropes, and it is impossible to unbind it.Hence, the Sage always excels at saving people, so he does not abandon people.He always excels at saving beings, so he does not abandon beings.This is called being doubly enlightened.Thus, the virtuous person is the master of the non-virtuous person.The non-virtuous person is the aid of the virtuous person.If one does not esteem his master, if the other does not cherish his aid, although they seem to be wise, they are plunged into delusion.This is what is most important and subtle.
Notes
It is impossible for ordinary people to walk without leaving traces, to speak without making mistakes, to calculate without counting tools, to close a door without a bolt, to tie something without using ropes.
But it is only the man who possesses the Way who walks without relying on his feet, who speaks without using his mouth, who calculates without using his mental faculties. One cannot open what he has closed, nor untie what he has bound (A: he imprisons his passions, he chains the desires of his heart), because he has identified with the Way.
The words 筹策 mean 'bamboo slips that were used (in ancient times) for calculating'.
The words 关键 mean 'a wooden crossbar used to close a double door.' This expression (whose second syllable can be written with the key 75) also means 'bolt, latch'.
An ordinary man can close a door, but it can be opened; he can tie something, but it can be untied.
Those whom the world calls wise have only narrow paths. They give with partiality and do not know justice that is broad and liberal for all. If a man is virtuous, they rejoice to see him like themselves and save him. If a man is not virtuous, they know how to hate him and do not know how to love him. From this comes that there are many men and creatures they abandon. But the Sage has a heart free of partiality, and he teaches men without distinction (literally, 'without choosing the kind'). He always excels at saving all men and all creatures in the world; hence, there has not yet been a single man or creature that he has rejected and refused to save.
The word 袭 has the meaning of 重 , 'double,' as if one said 重明 , 'doubly enlightened.' Lao-tse says that the Sage's wisdom is (literally) enlightened and again enlightened.
The virtuous man is not so for himself alone; he is intended to be the model for men. If men who are not virtuous can imitate his conduct, then they can correct their bad qualities and attain virtue. This is how the virtuous man is the master (the teacher) of those who are not virtuous.
The word 资 has the meaning of 助 'help, aid.' Ibidem: A man lacking in virtue is not necessarily doomed to persist in evil to the end. (His improvement) depends solely on good education. If the virtuous man can welcome him kindly and instruct him, then each of them will gain merit, and the virtuous man will in turn derive a marked advantage. This is how the man who is not virtuous becomes the aid of the virtuous man.
The virtuous man is the master (the teacher) of the man who is not virtuous. If the latter completely severs himself from the Sage, if he does not know how to approach him and attach himself to him to benefit from his advice or example, this is not esteeming his master.
The man who is not virtuous is the aid of the virtuous man. If the latter rejects and entirely abandons the man who is not virtuous, if he does not know how to cherish him and instruct him, this is not loving the one who is his aid.
In acting thus, both hold a blameworthy conduct; when one might say that they are endowed with wisdom, it would be impossible not to regard them as stricken with delusion.
This is what is called the most important path; it is free and subtle; hence, there are very few people who know it. The philosopher Lieh-tzu says: The role of the Sage is to teach and convert others. If, therefore, the mission of the saints and sages is solely to teach and convert, the main occupation of ordinary people should be to listen and follow their instructions. There is nothing in the world more important.
